Posts Tagged ‘London 2012’

Emma Chesterman, Digital and Creative Media Manager (Communications and Development), on going to see the Olympic Opening Ceremony on 27 July 2012.

“I was really lucky as my boyfriend’s folks managed to get hold of some tickets a week before the Opening Ceremony and they were lovely enough to give one to me.

I knew that it was going to be an amazing spectacle as two of my mates were taking part – one was a dancing NHS nurse in roller boots and the other was playing the drums. The stories they told in the run-up of secret mass rehearsals on special grid systems left my mind boggling!

After the technical and dress rehearsals there was mounting excitement around the City. Rumours of bikes with wings and dark dream catchers were rife.

I had braced myself for a bit of a crush to get into the Olympic Park as 80,000 people descended upon Stratford. However, arriving at the Olympic park was so easy. Five minutes going through security and we were there. Everyone, including the Games volunteers, was so excited. There was a buzz of anticipation and energy bubbling around the park and coursing through the crowd in the stadium itself.

The ceremony was amazing. The sound system was truly spectacular. I held back a tear as the Red Arrows flew overhead. It was all gobsmacking – idyllic English countryside transformed into Industrial Britain in a smoulder of bleak smoke, iron Olympic rings suspended above our heads and thousands upon thousands of dancers.

The entire event was thrilling. We danced and sang and clapped until our hands were sore. It took ages before the GB team paraded around the arena but when they stepped out the whole stadium went mental. That must have been a truly amazing experience for our top athletes.

Bikes with wings, a giant Voldemort, oversized glowing NHS beds, an ode to rave , Dizzee Rascal, the Queen, Daniel Craig, Kenneth Branagh, Mr Bean… I can’t imagine not being there to see it all and join in with the joy of everyone around me. I even forgive Sir Danny Boyle for wheeling Sir Paul for another tired rendition of Hey Jude!”

Off to an Olympic event and keen to share your experiences on Reporter? Email: reporter@imperial.ac.uk for more information

Kerry Noble, Research Editor and News Manager (Communications and Development), shares her experiences of going to watch team GB compete in the men’s gymnastics with her family.

“On the opening day of the Olympics, I took my children: Joseph aged four and Esther aged two, to see the gymnastics at the 02 in North Greenwich. We’d applied for the cheapest tickets possible knowing that with two kids in tow, we might not get to watch a whole lot of sport!

I’d never been to see any Olympic sports in my life but had fond memories of watching the gymnastics as a child on the TV. I recall looking at the women and seeing that they were not a great deal older than me. My husband Phil who grew up in Los Angeles, had his own memories of the Olympics coming to his home town in 1984.

We were super-organised in our preparations – we’d planned out our route from our home near Shoreditch High Street and had packed all the snacks and changes of clothes we might need for the kids, without breaking any of the strict rules laid out for attending London 2012 events. Our planning paid off and we had an easy and enjoyable day out.

We got to the venue with half an hour to spare – plenty of time for trips to the loo and to find our seats. We were in the nose-bleed section, in the very back row of the O2. Up there, there was a fantastic atmosphere with seats packed full of families. It was a shame to look down on the best seats and see them more than half empty.

The event was fantastic. There was a thrilling intro with a choreographed routine demonstrating all six of the pieces of equipment – the parallel bars, the pommel horse, the floor, the vault, the rings and the high bar. It was so good that when it ended and the applause subsided my son complained “that was only very short Mummy” – thinking that we’d just seen the main event!

Team GB triumphed – winning the most points in the session with a surprise victory over China. The highlight was seeing Louis Smith’s fabulous performance on the pommel horse. It brought the house down and we watched his tears flow on the giant screen.

Phil and I hope the excitement of 2012 will stay with our two children and, just to be sure, we got sucked in to buying them each a memento. Joseph chose a team GB water bottle and Esther a cuddly team GB mascot – ‘Pride’ the lion. We finished the trip with ice cream for everyone but Esther, who fell asleep with ‘Pride’ in her buggy.”

“OK, I’ll admit it – I didn’t set out to get Handball tickets, and I couldn’t even profess to knowing anything about it. But having randomly secured tickets in the second ballot, I set out to learn more about the sport which suddenly seemed like the most exciting thing happening at the Olympics. Usain who?

Any preconceptions of a dodge-ball like game played in primary school P.E. lessons were quickly dispelled by a search on YouTube. Fast, frenetic and with lots of opportunities for goal scoring, I headed to the Copper Box for the first day of Women’s Handball with a greater sense of anticipation and expectation.

This wasn’t my first visit to the Park – I’d been lucky enough to get tickets to some test events, and had been into the stadium to see a dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony. Even so, I hadn’t seen the Copper Box venue up close (strangely absent from lots of the pre-publicity). Clad in more than 3,000 square metres of copper and a riot of 7,000 coloured seats inside, it’s one of the permanent structures and will be a multi-sport community venue after the Games.

The match pitted Russia against Angola – even a newbie like me could tell this had a David vs Goliath feel to it – and a quick check of the world standings (Russia = second, Angola = 18th) suggested it could be a fairly one sided affair. How wrong I was. Russia started strongly, but Angola kept replying with goals of their own, not letting the Russian’s get too far ahead. Throughout the sixty minute game, the Angolans fought back to within touching distance.

I quickly learned that the basic aim of the game was fairly straightforward: pass –shoot – score, but there was more full-on contact than I had expected. Getting the ball off your opponent involved any combination of barging, grabbing or wrestling, with players liable to end up writhing on the floor in pain. Penalties were common and I was impressed that the goalies managed to keep their composure in spite of Queen’s “Under Pressure” blaring out as they prepared to face the penalty taker.

The atmosphere inside was quite incredible for a 9am start on a Saturday morning – especially after the festivities of the opening ceremony the night before. The crowd rooted for the underdogs throughout, cheering every Angola attack and goal like it was Team GB on the field of play. With minutes to go it looked like Angola may pull of a shock win, but in the end it finished 30- 27.

As the Angolan players walked round to thank the crowd, you could tell they were delighted by the support from the stands, even if the match ended in defeat. One of the aims of the Games was to increase participation in sport, and having seen it first hand, I’m definitely tempted to give handball a go. Luckily there’s a club at Imperial which makes it possible.

If you’re heading to the Olympic Park in the coming weeks, here are a few tips:

• Be prepared to walk –the Park is huge and if you want to explore it all, it could easily take half an hour to go from one end to the other.

• Security queues were quick – although that may change when Athletics events start inside the stadium. In which case, it may be quicker to use one of the other entrance gates.

• Take food with you, or get lunch in early. Lots of the food stands ran out of food at lunchtime, but hopefully they will have learnt from the first day. There was quite a variety to choose from, and although not cheap, it wasn’t eye-wateringly expensive.

Off to an Olympic event and keen to share your experiences on Reporter? Email: reporter@imperial.ac.uk for more information

Dr Anna Nyburg, Coordinator of Evening Classes and Socrates/Erasmus (Humanities), shares her experience of being an usherette at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games.

“While I was spending my own year abroad at Munich University, I applied for a job at the 1972 Olympic Games, which the city was then preparing for. To qualify for the job, I needed to be able to speak German and English, and one other language (in my case Italian or French).

Senior staff members Simon Harding-Roots, Chief Operations Officer, Jane Neary, Director of Commercial Services, Neil Mosley, Assistant Director of Commercial Services, and Paul Noke, Head of Residential Operations, each borrowed one of the 10 newly purchased bikes to take a tour of the College’s residential accommodation.

At 7.18am this morning, on the final day of the torch relay, first year medical undergraduate Klara Weaver carried the Olympic torch through Hampton Court Maze stopping only to pose for the cameras in the centre.

Klara, who is on a rowing scholarship at Imperial and hopes to compete in the 2016 Olympics, was given the chance to carry the flame by Lloyds TSB as she is one of the up-and-coming athletes sponsored by the Banks’ Local Heroes Scheme. The grant has helped to pay for Klara’s rowing training and equipment.

Since the 16 July Klara has been on the Lloyds TSB bus which has been travelling ahead of the torch relay to stir up the crowd. Klara was only offered the chance to be a torchbearer on Wednesday so she didn’t have much time to prepare. “I’d been watching the relay for the last week and a half but it was unbelievable to actually carry it,” she says.

A number of Kara’s classmates from Imperial and friends from the Rowing Club came to support her as well as her dad and boyfriend and her mum who watched it online. “I was really surprised how many people there were lining the maze especially at that time – it was overwhelming!” she reveals.

Klara didn’t have to worry about getting lost in the maze as she had a guide who worked at Hampton Court to lead her through although she did admit to having one concern about the experience: “I had lots of texts from friends in the last couple of days warning me not to set fire to the maze!” Klara says. “I was a bit worried to be honest – there was one archway that was quite low so I had to put the flame in front of me to get through,” she adds.

Klara was selected by Lloyds TSB because of her commitment and dedication to her sport of Rowing. Klara was double junior European champion when she was 16, she has won four national titles, competed at the Junior World Championships, and came 7th out of 24, and has won Women’s Henley twice.

During the Olympics, Royal Mail collections will be made up to two hours earlier than normal. This means they will collect from the South Kensington Campus at 14.20 instead of 16.20 from 23 July–7 September. All departments should have their external mail ready for collection by 13.00. Afternoon collections at St Mary’s and Royal Brompton Campuses will take place around 13.00.

On 21 June, Sport Imperial held the annual Imperial ARCS (Appreciate, Recognise and Celebrate Sport) event bringing together over 140 guests including students, staff, coaches, officials, volunteers, sponsors and partner organisations, as well as alumnus Simon Dennis, Great Britain team rower and Olympic gold medallist.

The evening closed with the recognition of students Adam Scholefield, pictured right, and Melanie Wilson, who have been selected to compete in the Olympics. Adam is the Vice Captain of the water polo team and Melanie forms part of the rowing squad.

Good luck to students Melanie Wilson and Adam Scholefield – Imperial’s Olympic athletes who will start competing this weekend in the London 2012 Games. Adam is the Vice Captain of the GB Water Polo team and Melanie forms part of the GB Rowing squad.

Keep your eyes peeled for our Imperial stars

MELANIE

Melanie will compete in the Double Sculls heat on Monday 30July at 10.20 am at Eton Dorney.

If Melanie doesn’t qualify outright from her heat she will be in the Repechage on Tuesday 31 Julyat 9.50am and the final will be on Friday 3 August at 10.30am.

Pamela Agar, Head of Digital and Creative Media (Communications and Development), shares her experiences of going to the technical rehearsal of the Olympic Opening Ceremony on 23 July:

“At times, it’s felt like I’m in the minority for being ridiculously excited about my city hosting the Games – but sitting in the new Olympic Stadium on Monday evening with 60,000 other enthusiastic people reminded me of how hotly the event is anticipated.

Lucky enough to have been given a ticket to the technical rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony by my husband, a 2012 volunteer, I travelled to the Olympic Park leaving plenty of time spare for the much hyped traffic and security chaos. My journey from South London was surprisingly smooth and the security screening fast, friendly and efficient, leaving me lots of time to explore.

I’d been to the Olympic Park much earlier in the year, to see the cycling and diving test events, but much of the area was still a building site. What a transformation! The glorious sunshine helped present the Park at its very best – and I was surprised to see so many beautiful wild flower banks framing the walkways and the dramatic architecture of the Stadium and Orbit.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the rehearsal itself – it was quite a surreal experience as some parts of the Ceremony were being kept strictly under wraps and were consequently missing, leaving odd gaps. Following Danny Boyle’s social media plea to #savethesurprise – I won’t divulge any details of what I did see. But I can say that I found it spectacular, moving, sometimes confusing (I think I might need Huw Edwards’s BBC commentary to help me follow the story!), funny and very British! I can’t wait to see it in its entirety on TV on Friday evening.

I couldn’t help but laugh when the first announcement at the end of the show was an alert that the Central Line was suspended – can’t help wonder if it was a TfL test to see how the network would cope after a major event in the Olympic Park. As it happened, leaving the Park was just like leaving any large scale venue – lots of slow shuffling towards the local station – but generally quite efficient. I was back home 90 minutes after leaving my seat.

I can’t wait to get back to the Park next week for competition. Monday has left me even more excited – and very proud of it!”

Handball – the most popular sport you’ve probably never heard of

My name is Lorenz Gruber and I have just finished my second year at Imperial in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. It’s amazing to have the chance to work for the Olympics in the city I am studying in and I have been looking forward to it for a long time.

Indeed my application to become a Games Maker was the first email that I sent from my new Imperial address in September 2010 (yes, 22 month ago)!

Imperial had the chance to select over 100 Games Makers amongst its staff and students willing to volunteer for handball [an Olympic sport in which two teams try to throw the ball into their opponents’ goal] or goal ball [a team sport designed for blind athletes]. To be in with a chance of taking part we had to attend a selection event at Ethos, followed by an interview with LOCOG (the organisation responsible for planning the Olympics) a couple of months later, followed by an utterly useless information event in the Wembley Arena, followed by role specific training, followed by venue specific training… there have been lots of events in the last 22 months!

Frankly, I believe the reason why I was selected was that I had heard the word ‘handball’ before which turned out to be pretty rare amongst all the applicants!

For those of you who have never heard of handball, don’t worry, you will know what it is after the Olympics! The reason for this is that both the GB men’s and women’s teams have qualifies for the Olympic tournament. The fact that the host is automatically qualified might have helped the teams slightly but hey, nobody cares anymore now! Although this is unlikely to be mirrored in the UK, but handball attracted the third most TV spectators during the Games in Beijing which show its massive popularity with the rest of the globe.

Coming back to the actual work I have to do. I am a FOP (field of play) team member. During the matches I will be on the edge of the field of play making sure that only the people that belong on the pitch are there. Before and after the matches our job is also to make sure the athletes are happy! As the matches don’t start until Saturday 28 July at the moment we are just on hand to help during the athletes’ training.

On Monday 23 July most of the volunteers were allowed to go to the final dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony in the stadium. We were asked to keep all the details a secret until Friday but the only thing I can say: Don’t get the wrong impression from the first 15 rather boring minutes because the rest will be great! This was the most impressive spectacle my eyes have ever witnessed! Well done GB!

In my next blog post…

Hear more about the Olympic site, our uniform and the Opening Ceremony:)

After more than seven years of planning, the eyes of the world are finally now on London – with 10,500 athletes and millions of spectators descending upon the capital. But how will the Games of the 30th Olympiad look through the eyes of the Imperial community? Throughout the Games, Reporter will be blogging and reporting – following our student Olympians Melanie Wilson and Adam Scholefield, talking to world-class competitors training on campus, speaking to volunteers taking part and getting an insider’s view from staff and students going along to the events. And while the focus is on sport, it’s also a unique cultural event – bringing together the best in music, food and art from all over the world.

On Saturday 21 July Professor Alison McGregor (Surgery and Cancer), one of Imperial’s three torch bearers carried the Olympic flame through Greenwich. She describes her once in a lifetime experience:

“Carrying the torch was such an emotional, inspiring and terrific experience – the crowd was absolutely phenomenal and the camaraderie amongst the runners was fantastic.

My day started at 7am at Blackheath Rugby Club training ground – I stayed with friends in London the night before so I could get there on time. When I arrived I met the 14 other torchbearers in our group – including third year mathematics student Franca Hoffman – and we all tried on our uniforms and got ready to board the bus. The bus went ahead of the runners and dropped each person off at their allocated position where you waited with the torch for the runner behind to catch you up.

The second I got out of the bus there was just a sea of people – from the media to complete strangers in the crowds who wanted to hug you, touch the torch and have their picture taken with you! I think we were all nervous but once you were there it was so exciting and so much was happening you didn’t really have time to worry. The torch was passed to me by Austin Reynolds. We were both so elated and emotional we hugged as we met!

I had a policewoman alongside me on a bicycle guarding the torch as it was lit, who told me not hand it to anyone. Once I started running there were familiar faces everywhere – loads of students from my research team, friends and family, as well as strangers in their front gardens and along the road waving and cheering! The torch is much lighter now the gas cylinder has been taken out but I had to switch arms a couple of times as they got tired – it was a bit like holding a big umbrella. At the end of my run I handed the torch to a man called Mohammed who had been nominated for the work he had done in Ethiopia.

One of my favourite parts of the experience was meeting the other torchbearers who had been nominated for so many different things – from the woman who’s grandchild put her forward for her work in the community to soldier Private Jaco van Gass – who lost his left arm and part of his left leg in Helmand on his second tour of Afghanistan, and who had trekked to the North Pole as part of a ‘Walking for the Wounded’ charity expedition as well as climbing Everest only two weeks ago! When Jaco did his part of the run past the Woolwich Barracks he was followed by the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery who gave him a military salute – it was a really lovely moment and one that was totally unexpected by him which made it particularly heart touching.

Aside from everyone who came along, lots of people watched it online and texted me afterwards, including my husband, who is an Olympic rowing coach, who watched it with the GB rowing team in Italy. Coaching on how I could have held the torch higher was of course given!

Once we had finished everyone made their way back to the rugby club for more photos and to change. We all decided to buy our torches – it really is a lovely piece of memorabilia and is definitely going up on the wall!

I had to rush off afterwards as I was due to attend the affirmation ceremony for the medics back at the Great Hall on the South Kensington Campus. I got some strange looks on the train but only a couple of people asked me about the torch! When I arrived back to Imperial I changed out of my tracksuit bottoms but my colleagues made me keep my top on and even carry the torch onto the stage! All in all it was an incredibly memorable day!